Nu Chapter at Lincoln University, Lincoln, Pennsylvania, began its existence in the year 1912. Lincoln University had been the traditional rival of Howard University in athletic contests. The student body of Lincoln looked upon the student body of Howard as its friendly rival. For some years, the success of Beta Chapter at Howard had been watched with interest by the students at Lincoln. Brother C. M. Cain, who had been associated with many Howard students, gathered a group of students and began the plans for the establishment of a chapter at Lincoln. ​

Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African-Americans, was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of Brotherhood among African descendants in this country. The visionary founders, known as the "Jewels" of the Fraternity, are Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle, and Vertner Woodson Tandy. ​